Apple, Fennel, and Radish Slaw with Pecans and Blue Cheese

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This crunchy red, white and blue salad is a festive addition to any menu. Apple, Fennel, and Radish Slaw with Pecans and Blue Cheese is a refreshing side dish to take to a picnic, barbecue, or potluck.

This recipe was originally posted in July 2015. Updates include photos and chef prep notes.

The warm summer weather calls for lots of salads . I love my creamy red potato salad, this sweet melon and fresh mozzarella salad, and a big chicken entrée salad.

This crunchy apple and fennel slaw is one of my favorite summertime salad side dishes. The unique combination of ingredients is a tantalizing mix of savory, sweet, salty and tangy-tart flavors. Fennel tastes faintly like licorice. The sweet apples and blueberries, the spicy radishes and crisp celery are fruits and vegetables whose flavors complement each other.

the ingredients for this crunchy apple fennel slaw

• lemon
• apple
• fennel and fennel fronds
• celery
• radishes
• blueberries
• toasted pecans
• blue cheese
• extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt
• pepper

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how to keep apples from turning brown in salads

Adding apples to a salad can sometimes lead to an unpleasant browning of the sliced fruit. A trick to keep the apple slices bright white is to add sliced apples to a bowl of cold water and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Swish the apples around in the liquid and let sit for a few minutes. The citrus juice and water mixture evenly coats the apples without adding too much lemony flavor. The result is fruit that looks and tastes just as fresh as when it was cut.

how to make apple fennel slaw

As with most salads, no cooking is needed to make this crunchy apple fennel slaw. Start out by soaking the matchstick sliced apples in cold water with a squeeze of 1/2 lemon. Thinly slice the fennel, celery and radishes and place in a large bowl. Add the blueberries, pecans, and blue cheese.

In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil with the kosher salt and pepper. Taste this simple vinaigrette as you may want to add a little more salt and/or pepper. Toss the fruit and veggies with the vinaigrette and sprinkle with some chopped fennel fronds. FYI ~ fennel fronds are the light and airy tops of the fennel bulb.

chef tips for making apple fennel slaw from scratch

• Pick the freshest available fruits and vegetables for the tastiest apple fennel slaw.
• Thinly slice the apple, fennel, celery, and radishes in matchsticks. This makes for the prettiest slaw that has lots of crunch.
• Substitute your favorite nuts for the pecans. I also love almonds or walnuts in this recipe.
• To toast the pecans, heat a small skillet over medium low heat. Add the nuts (nothing else is needed as they contain natural oils) and toast for 5 to 6 minutes. Shake the skillet occasionally so the nuts evenly brown and do not burn.
• Gorgonzola, goat cheese, Parmesan, or sharp cheddar are good substitutes for the blue cheese.
• Serve the apple fennel slaw can be immediately after making it. Or refrigerate the crunchy salad for up to 6 hours.

The slaw’s crunchy ingredients hold up well to sitting out on a picnic table or buffet. Make the apple fennel slaw early in the day so there is no last minute chopping. And the recipe can be easily doubled if serving a crowd.

If you make this delicious apple fennel slaw, I love hearing from you all. Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ~ I do my best to reply to all your comments. And snap a photo to post to Instagram. I’ll add the photos to my Insta stories as I love seeing all your creations.

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